ciations
she would be able to hide it; not from herself, not from the biting
criticism of her own thoughts. But from others; she could hide it
from them.

That night she wrote to Janet asking her to come and see her; and
the next day they sat opposite to each other at a table in a quiet
restaurant up West.

"I'm going to take your advice," Sally began.

"You're going away?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"At once; in a day or two, as soon as I hear from mother. I wrote
to her this morning."

"What did you say?"

"I said that I'd saved up some money and, as I hadn't been very well,
I wanted to come down and stay with her for a change. I suggested
that I might be of some use in the school."

"Yes, that's all right. But for goodness' sake don't let her see that
you've got a lot of money. The wives of clergymen, as far as I've
ever seen, are weaned on the milk of suspicion. They'll never believe
anybody's properly married but themselves; I suppose that's because
they're in the trade. I know Mr. Cheeseman thinks nobody's furniture
genuine, except his own. That's always a little business failing.
But you ought to be careful."

"But I haven't any too much money," said Sally quietly.

Janet gazed up at her in unsympathetic surprise. "That's rather
unlike you," she said abruptly. "I think he was very generous. A
hundred and fifty a year, free of rent for three years, is more, I
imagine, than most men would drag out of their pockets. You could
make what living you liked beside that, if you chose to. I know I
should jolly-well think myself a Croesus with that capital."

Her tone of voice was hard with criticism.

"But do you think I take all he's offered me?" asked Sally.

"Do you mean to say you don't?"

"No, I take the very least I can. A pound a week is all I want for
my food; what else should I want? I wouldn't touch another penny of
it but that till the three years are over. I have all the clothes
I could possibly want. You thought I was mean, didn't you, Janet?"

Janet looked up at the ceiling, then impulsively held out her hand.

"God help me!" she exclaimed, "if I find my own sex an enigma; but
what on earth made you decide?"

"Mr. Devenish."

"Who?"

"Mr. Devenish, the man I told you I was dining with that night, six
weeks ago."

"Why him, in the name of Heaven?"

"He came to see me last night."

"Well?"

"He took me out to dinner."

"Very good thing too. You want a little of that sort of entertain